6 months

6 months is a long time, especially when trying to keep a blog up, yet fail to. The holidays last year ended and with it my consistency here. But I needed to take a break. It was necessary. Around January Dave's travel increased to a few nights a week and my usual time carved out to do some posts and plan while Dave watched the girls, became time that he needed to get ready to leave and work on things for the week. The girls and I also started driving to Franklin on numerous occasions and meeting up with Dave. That meant packing up all that we needed, including food and homeschool material, by myself and meeting him for a few nights and then back again. This went on for a number of months off and on. It was good and tiring.

All in all, the beginning months of this year were just plain hard for me. Sickness among the girls, my ongoing health issues, Dave gone, much uncertainty in my heart over many areas of life. Many days I was characterized by sadness as I fought for perspective. 

As spring approached and then summer, the pressing issue became finding a home in Franklin. We came close but the Lord closed the door on all the places we looked into. My mom found a cute little house that was perfect for her and she moved in May. With our lease running out, my mom generously offered for us to come and live with her. While Dave spent his weeks in Nashville, I traveled back and forth to spent time there and come home to finish up the girl's co-op classes and to pack up the house. Ugg. Packing is grueling. It's not for the faint of heart! But I did it. And moving day finally came.

Up to this day, we still have no prospects on a home. So, we seek to be patient and wait. The summer has flown by with getting settled in with my mom and trying to do some fun activities with the girls. I'm also happy to report that as soon as we moved a month ago, I started to feel so much better, health wise. I made some changes in a few areas and overall, I just think being together, not schooling for the summer, and not traveling has cut down on a lot of stress on my body, heart and mind.

Before the move I sold about half of all our furniture to cut down on the amount of storage we needed. And also secretly because I wanted to re-do many rooms. It's just my thing. I love to do it. I have a friend who posted my stuff on a facebook page in Knoxville and pulled in about double what I could have ever hoped for on Craigslist. So now I have some "fun" money that I am using to purchase "new" craigslist, vintage store and yard sale finds for our new place, wherever that will be. My mom graciously puts up with me constantly painting in her garage and working on projects.

That leads me to today. Day 5 of a 6 day getaway for Dave and I. If we ever needed a break it was now.  We both are spent. A couple who loves our kids and who we are so grateful for, took all 4 girls for the entire time. We are on Kiawah Island, just outside of Charleston, SC. Amazing place! I cannot honestly remember a vacation that Dave has been on and not had to work. He told me yesterday he doesn't know how to relax Although, I think he is finally getting into vacation mode! On Saturday we go and pick up the girls and head north. We'll see the Ploons, the Falciones, some cousins and friends. Then we'll spend some time at my dads. We will build some memories, for sure. I know it will be good for the girls to have this time back home.

That's it in a nutshell. I have no idea how consistent I will be on this blog from here on out. I'd like to think I might be just a little better than the past 6 months! But as soon as we find a home, that means yet another move. 

On a side note, yes, I am still keeping up with my 1000 things list. I'm behind where I thought I would be, landing at about 450 to date. But it continues to serve me, and help bring needed perspective. 

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Our trip to Franklin

Our trip in photos. All are from my phone camera, so pardon the blurry ones!

The cutest ice cream shop EVER...

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Our last summer trip

Two weeks ago the girls and I went to my dads for one last summer trip away. This week I'll be 4 weeks from my due date, so from here on out, I'll be sticking close to home until the little one arrives.

We had a great time at my dads and, of course, the girls were spoiled with a ton of fun! Our dear friends, the Coopers, were also in the area on vacation, so we got to see them one day at the beach.

Laura and her sister, Katie, each had baby girls a few months apart...Here they are:




The girls having fun...







We had a few showers while there and the girls, in between rain drops, played in the hot tub and even in the rain. Addie was content to just play with a bucket of water while the girls were in the hot tub.









A few activities have become tradition every summer when we go to dads, one of which is the Pirate Ship...













After the Pirate ship we went to dinner and Addie showed off her new found love...KETCHUP! She discovered it this summer and is quickly taking after her "K."

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Vacation, Part 2

I finally got a chance to go through the pictures from our vacation. What a gift that time was. We left my dads on Wednesday, July 6 and drove up to Lancaster, PA. I think our GPS took us the longest way possible, but we enjoyed the drive and finally arrived that evening. The place we stayed at was an Inn that I went to with my mom and Grammy years ago. It's called Penn Valley Inn and it could not have been more perfect for our family. It was a little cottage off of the main farm house and had everything we needed - full kitchen, living area, and a staircase that led to a separate loft with a bathroom that slept all of us. The owner of the farm lived in a house just up the street and rented the actual farm out to an amish family. Here are some pictures from around the farm.

I was in garden envy! This young amish family had an amazing garden outside the farm house. I walked through it a few times and drooled over all the yummy things they had growing.

Our first full day there, we did not do much. I was really exhausted and recovering from the full days we had at my dads. The girls colored, did some crafty things, and played on the swing set that was right outside. Then, we ALL took naps!








Selah's drawing

Later that afternoon, we went to a restaurant for lunch that had a huge tree house.





The Inn we stayed at was so wonderfully peaceful and the views around us were breathtaking...true country - I love it!







The next two days we ventured out to Dutch Wonderland, an amusement park for younger kids. Two years ago we went with some friends to Hershey Park, but it was a bit much for our girls. This place was perfect! Cheaper, smaller than the bigger parks, and all the rides are catered toward those that are around around 11 and under. The girls had a blast.













Mckenna loved the bumper cars!

Selah feeding the ducks...of course, one of her favorite things that she did at the park.

On Saturday, Dave decided to stay an extra night. In fact, he said that if it wasn't for work, we would have stayed even longer. It wasn't until we had been there for a day or two, that he told me he finally felt like he was on vacation. It was sad to see our time come to an end, but we made wonderful memories and I'm so grateful for the time we had together!

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